Most television viewers receive their television programming through a cable, direct broadcast satellite (DBS), IPTV or similar subscription-based service. To that end, television service is usually broadcast from a cable, DBS or other content aggregator to multiple subscribers. The subscribers may then view received content as live broadcasts from any one of a plurality of client devices connected to a home network, and may similarly browse available content from any connected device.
At the same time, the Internet and other digital communications networks continue to have significant effects on every aspect of personal and professional life. Network communications are becoming increasingly ubiquitous due to the reduced cost and increased performance of portable computing devices, as well as the increasing prevalence and capability of mobile telephony and other wireless communications technologies. Additionally, more and more devices, including set top boxes (STBs), television receivers, personal or digital video recorders (DVRs), placeshifting devices and the like are becoming enabled for communications over digital networks. Consumers therefore expect convenient modalities for browsing available media content from a wide range of devices and settings.
Digital streaming media services such as Netflix™, Hulu™ Plus, and Amazon™ Prime employ a “browse-then-watch” metaphor for navigating and viewing subscription content. For example, a user must first terminate or suspend the current viewing session, navigate through available content choices, select the next movie, television show, or the like, and then terminate the browsing session and begin viewing the most recently selected content. That is, the user must interrupt the current viewing session, switch to a browsing mode, and thereafter return to a viewing mode. Other services shrink the current video frame, push it to one corner of the screen, and display a viewing guide in the remaining portion of the screen.
Presently known media distribution paradigms lack the ability to browse available content without substantially disrupting the current viewing session. Moreover, presently known guides are typically presented in the form of a grid containing textual information.
Systems and methods are thus needed which overcome these limitations.